The Board has determined that the VA examination and opinion are inadequate, as they did not address aggravation of the upper back disability by service-connected disabilities. The case is remanded for further development.
The deciding factor: The examiner did not adequately consider whether the appellant's upper back disability was aggravated by his service-connected bilateral knee disabilities and/or low back disability.
- Claimed conditions
- upper back disability
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19191799
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19191799.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, remanded claims for service connection for an upper back disability and headaches, and remanded the claim for a compensable rating for left recurrent corneal erosion syndrome.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for an upper back disability and lower back pain due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for tinnitus, an upper back disability, and a thoracolumbar spine disability as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to the Veteran's active or Reserve service.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a low back, upper back, bilateral arm, and knee disability, as well as an eating disorder and stress disorder. However, the Board granted a 50 percent rating for depression.
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